Willy Paul and Khaligraph Jones are among leading Kenyan artists who came out guns blazing after receiving paltry royalty payments in the region of Sh2,500 from Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) including the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) and the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK).
In a video that has since gone viral, Hallelujah hitmaker Willy Paul called out MCSK and PRISK over the low royalty payments, telling artists that it was time to take on the CMOs once and for all.
Willy Paul threatened to rough MCSK officials up, telling them "Tutawavuruga (We will rough you up)…nyambeni huko (fart over there)" as he observed the irony in spending up to Sh4 million on his projects only to earn peanuts from the CMOs.
Nyambeni Huko! pic.twitter.com/YDyA7BmcMM
— WILLY PAUL MSAFII? (@WillyPaulMusic) August 14, 2019
A visibly angry Willy Paul blasted MCSK and PRISK honchos for enriching themselves at the expense of artists working hard everyday.
He had earlier posted another thread calling on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to look into the rot at the CMOs and trace artists' funds.
Paul's sentiments are shared with Leave me Alone rapper Khaligraph Jones who issued a hard-hitting statement after receiving his Sh2,500 via mobile money.
Khaligraph slammed MCSK as he demanded that the CMOs stop harassing anyone for playing his music since they were going to pay him peanuts anyway. He further promised to show up to their offices and beat them up.
The OG doubled down on plans to rough up MCSK officials on Twitter on Wednesday night as he promised to handle the matter as soon as he was back in Nairobi.
MCSK and PRISK over the past week issued what they called 'general distributions' of royalty payments, with most artists receiving a similar amount in the range of Sh500 to Sh2500.
The royalty payments were for money collected for licenses for use of artists content in public places.
Other artists, such as Khaligraph collaborator Msupa S, received as little as Sh22 and took to the internet to express their frustration with Msupa S calling for artists to demonstrate.
